Together Yet Apart
by TyLeeChan
Summary: Aftermath: They had finally begun to feel normal again. No longer seperated from each other and miserable. But it would all change after a certain Starcream clone decided to add them into his grand scheme of chaos. Sequel to The Strength of Bonds


**Hey everyone! The next part in the Aftermath Saga, returning to the Jettwins POV. The ending is a bit crummy, but if anyone knows me they know my endings generally suck. Hard. **_

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_…and then Sentinel vas falling on his gearshaft? Vith oil being everywhere?_

_Oh yah. I am remembering that vell, brother. That vas being last time ve vere allowed to be going to Maccadam's. _

_And last time Sentinel took us anywhere for good behavior. _

_Vell, that vas being okay. His idea of fun vas not as I recall…fun. _

_That is being true. Did he not arrest somebot during that time? _

_Yah, some drunk-bot. And he vas thinking _that_ vas fun. _

_Vat a glitchhead. _

_Big fat glitchhead._

_Uh oh…ve vere supposed to be answering question, vere ve not?_

_Slaggit, you are right. Vat vas Perceptor asking again?_

_I thought _you_ vere the remember-bot this time. _

Jetstorm giggled. His twin was right again; he had said that he was going to remember the question Perceptor had asked them. But they had gotten so wrapped up in the memory that he had forgotten. Again. Slowly, he turned to the glass window that separated the two of them from the sciencebot. Perceptor did not look amused at all. Though his faceplate was still set straight, there was a glint in his viz scanners that suggested frustration. Jetstorm and Jetfire and learned how to translate these small hints into the emotions that Perceptor might be feeling.

_Vat should ve be doing?_

_Maybe ve could ask him to repeat._

_Or…ve could just pretend and play along._

_Or ve could ask him to repeat. _Jetfire nodded his head, as if saying he wouldn't waver from his decision. Jetstorm sighed inwardly.

"Much excuse-me's and apologies, sir," Jetstorm began, "But could you be repeating question?"

Perceptor leaned towards the glass and fumbled with his visor. "It seems I don't have much of a choice." He replied, "I had asked for you two to role-play a situation in which you were angry with each other."

He had been asking them to do weird stuff like this a lot lately, ever since they were allowed to see each other again. Before they never did much. They were only permitted to stay in their rooms. What was most agonizing about it, though, was back then their twin telepathy had been broken. Their bond had been incomplete. It had been an awful experience, like half of you was slowly dying and taking the rest of you with it. And it had made them act…differently. Jetstorm still didn't understand what had happened fully himself. All he knew was he had done things nobot who truly considered himself an Autobot would do. He had been like a Decepticon.

But now it was different. Somehow they had patched up the bond, and it was like nothing had happened. Well, except for the fact that they still were confined in this strange building. But it didn't matter. As long as his brother was here, Jetstorm didn't care where he was. He knew Jetfire felt the same way. And now that their twin telepathy worked again, they could talk to each other even though they weren't in the same room. It was like they were never away from each other. Much better than when Jetstorm didn't even know if Jetfire was still online. They relied heavily on this method of communication, using it more now than speech, even if they were right next to each other.

They were still generally treated as some sort of threat by the guards. But Perceptor and Wheeljack never thought of them that way. They considered them to be normal, very Autobot-ish `bots. The only reason they were separated in different rooms was, as Perceptor had stated, 'protocol'. And because they still didn't understand what could trigger the Decepticon-like responses. Jetstorm cringed, remember how he had almost choked Wheeljack to death, simply for coming to visit him. He knew he didn't want to do something like that ever again.

Where was Wheeljack now, anyways? He wasn't with Perceptor in the other room from what Jetstorm could tell. He usually came along on these ridiculous test things. Jetstorm really didn't know what to call them. Perceptor just gave them meaningless tasks to do, then he'd nod and take some notes, give them some time to hang out, then send them back to their rooms. What good would it do for them to role-play being angry with each other?

"More apologies, sir." Jetfire said, "But ve are not being angry. How can ve be pretending to be angry?"

"I've been told it's not that difficult. Just imagine a situation in which one of you insults the other, and play off of it." Perceptor explained.

"That is not sounding hard." Jetstorm grinned, "I am thinking of many insults to be using."

"Are you saying that I have many insults?" Jetfire blinked, and then looked a little sad. Jetstorm could feel his dejected nature, his inner fire cooling.

"No, no." Jetstorm assured, "I vas just pulling stabilizing servo, starting role-play, as Perceptor had said. You did not know ve vere starting then?"

"No, I vas not being aware at all!" Jetfire realized, then smiled, "I am being big mudflap, am I not?"

"Is this also being part of role-play?"

"Yes."

"Then I am agreeing." Jetstorm puffed out his chestplate and deepened his voice, "You are being muddiest of all mudflaps, glitchiest of all glitchheads. And your faceplate is not being desirable to look at either."

_Don't even be starting vith the 'zackly'. _Jetstorm added.

…_but I like the 'zackly'…_

"Okay then! That is uh…" He paused, "…making me angry?" He looked toward Perceptor for approval. The sciencebot didn't make any response.

"If you are being so angry, then perhaps you should be taking it out me."

"Vy vould I do that?" Jetfire scrunched up his faceplate.

_Role-play, brother. Remember?_

_Oh…oops…_

"I-I mean…You are being right! I vill be taking out anger on you, you meanie-bot!" Jetfire lunged forward, but as if he were in slow-motion. "Vatch out! I vill be slagging you good!"

Jetstorm leaned his head back as his twin's servo came at it, in the same lagging manner as he had moved earlier. He over-exaggerated, making his wince look like he had been hit by a large plasma blaster. It only lasted a nanoclick, however. A smile soon reappeared.

They weren't able to complete their fake-fight. Before Jetstorm could complete his 'blow', the two of them fell over on the floor, chassis shaking in laughter. The hilarity of the situation had caught up to them. There was no way that they would ever get angry about something so light-hearted. They didn't understand what Perceptor had meant to accomplish. Even if they had really got angry, wouldn't they have just…reacted badly again?

Jetstorm laughed so hard oil leaked from the corners of his viz scanners. It felt so good to laugh. Like they were normal again. Like nothing had ever happened to them. They were just two brothers, having fun. It was a freeing sensation. Jetstorm wished they felt like this all of the time. And he loved that they were experiencing it together. He could feel the same senses from Jetfire, but they were different in a Jetfire-y way. Instead of being flighty and smooth, like Jetstorm was, it was a bubbly warmth from deep in his spark. Jetstorm had always enjoyed being able to have this view into his brother's chassis. Jetfire definitely had a different perception of life.

Wiping off the oil, Jetstorm leaned up to see how Perceptor reacted. He wouldn't be happy, he knew that much. They hadn't taken it seriously, though he wasn't sure they were able to do that. Already they considered the tests to be pointless; it didn't help when they asked them to do even more ridiculous tasks.

Perceptor wasn't there. The other room was empty, the door leading out of it opened wide. He had left!

_Perceptor is being gone!_ Jetstorm announced. Jetfire stopped laughing and looked over.

_Yes, it vould be appearing so. _He replied nonchalantly.

_Ve must have been made him very upset…_

_Mm-Hm…maybe ve should have been trying harder on test?_

_Maybe so…_ Jetstorm frowned. He hated disappointing Perceptor this way. He was practically their creator, though Wheeljack and Red Alert had done a lot of work in remodeling them as well.

_Now vat? Ve cannot be leaving to our rooms unless somebot lets us out._

_I guess…that ve vill be staying here then._

That wasn't such a bad prospect. They didn't get much time to see each other lately, although any time was an improvement from before. The extra cycles, or however long they would stay in here before somebot realized they were still there, would amount to a lot.

_So…anything new happening?_

They both smiled at each other. They pretty much knew if anything new happened to the other. They were constantly talking to each other through their twin telepathy. It was like instant updates when they weren't together.

Jetstorm looked at Jetfire for a nanoclick. Although they were both considerably happier since their bond was 'fixed', they still weren't the same from before this whole thing started. Jetfire looked older, and much more tired. He had often complained of difficulty stasis-napping. Something about nightmares. Jetstorm knew he wasn't lying. When they happened, he could feel his brother's fear. His restlessness. He could hear the screams and cries for help. Jetfire may still be the carefree brother he knew, but something seemed wrong. Like this ordeal had sapped out some of their innocence.

The door to the other room slammed shut, and the two of them snapped their heads towards it instantly. It wasn't Perceptor.

"Have you been giving Percy a hard time?" Wheeljack asked, walking up to the control panel near the window.

"Depends on definition, sir." Jetfire answered.

"Is just…ve are not understanding vy ve are doing such strange things for him." Jetstorm explained.

_More than just being strange…_

_Vell, yes, but let us just be keeping it at that._

Wheeljack chuckled. "Yeah, it does sound strange, doesn't it? I would be doing the exact same same thing if I was in your position."

"Are you understanding, then?" Jetstorm asked.

"The test? Kinda, I guess." He replied, "Perceptor is going about it the wrong way though. He doesn't understand that most `bots don't role-play like they would react in real life. Like, when I role-play, I'll usually do outrageous things that you would never catch me doing in situations. Shooting a `bot with a giant blaster, for example. I wouldn't really do that, but I find it comical so I pretend that I would."

"You are thinking offlining a `bot is being comical?" Jetfire frowned.

"Oh…the ammo is paint, of course." Wheeljack assured, looking a bit embarrassed by the misconception. "But the point is, you two really wouldn't attack each other over an insult anymore, would you?"

The words cut deep into Jetfire. Jetstorm could feel his guilt creeping back up. He knew that Wheeljack probably hadn't meant to make them think of the event that had led them here. He was just telling the truth plainly; this was why they were doing the test. It still hurt.

_Do not be fretting, brother. It vas my fault anyways. I should've been listening to you back then. _

_I am knowing…let…let us just stop discussion about it…_

Jetstorm nodded, answering both Wheeljack and his twin. "So, Wheeljack, sir, vat is Perceptor doing now?"

"Oh, what I was doing earlier." He replied. As if that answered anything. They both stared at him blankly, "That's right. You don't know. Well, Red Alert and some `bots from her space bridge team were attacked, and their sparks were removed and…"

"Vat!?" Jetfire exclaimed. Jetstorm felt his spark dampen in sadness. Red Alert? Something had happened to her? Her spark?

Wheeljack's expression turned to worry. "I shouldn't have told you that…" He realized aloud.

"Is she…she being online?" Jetstorm asked hesitantly.

"That's the strange thing. All three of them are completely fine. They just don't have their sparks." He stopped and cursed under his breath, "Shouldn't have told you that either."

Jetstorm sighed in relief. Red Alert wasn't offline. That was good. But everything else about her situation seemed bleak. No spark? No life. Basic knowledge for anybot. Perceptor and Wheeljack were geniuses, though. They would find out what was wrong and fix it. They had to.

"Is Perceptor helping them?" Jetfire asked.

"He's just performing some diagnostics. I'm in charge of that project, so technically _I'll_ be helping them. Perceptor has his servos full with you two already. I just came here to give him a break. But we're almost on to something. I actually have a theory about this, though it sounds ridiculous. They have a residual energy signal on them that almost matches that of the new Allspark…" He trailed off, and cursed again, "Slaggit, I definitely shouldn't have told you that. All this is top secret, almost at a higher level than both of you."

"Is okay, Wheeljack…" Jetstorm began.

"…ve vill be telling nobot!" Jetfire finished.

"You two should be glad that I trust you." He shook his head with a soft laugh, "Now it's late. Time for you two to get some rest." He pressed a button on the control panel, and the door in their room opened. Two guards were outside, waiting to take them back.

They both groaned. "Yes sir…"

* * *

Jetstorm was sleeping. Jetfire could tell. He could feel the inner peace and tranquility that only sleep could bring. And there was the fact that he wasn't talking anymore. Jetfire actually was a bit happy for a lapse in conversation. They did run out of things to say a lot, especially with not much happening to either of them. And it gave him some time to just sit and think.

He walked over to the small table next to his recharger. They had added it in recently, and it made the room a little homier. It also gave him a place to set down stuff, other than the ground. Right now several documents lay across its surface. Jetfire picked up one and sat back down on his recharger. He smiled as he began to read.

Perceptor had made sure to pass on these articles to him. He had been desperate to learn how Blurr was faring, and now he could find out all he needed to know. The blue speedster had recovered well, from what the reporters said. Jetfire was relieved to know that he hadn't been too late in saving him. And that when he dropped him nothing major had happened. He would have felt awful if that was the case. There was a rumor that one reporter wrote that Blurr did suffer from something due to his experiences, but they wouldn't divulge too much. Jetfire hoped it wasn't the case.

He had already read this article a few times before, but he had little else to do. It was mostly an interview, and it showed how much Blurr liked to talk. Though he avoided most of the questions and tried to get on other subjects than himself, he still spoke in sentences that were almost three lines long. Jetfire wondered if the reporter got annoyed with him. About two-thirds of the way through the questions seemed to be rushed, like he was trying to end it as quick as possible.

Finished reading, he gently placed it back on the table and slouched down into the recharger. He wasn't especially tired yet, but it felt good just to relax. He had gotten a bit stressful when he heard what happened to Red Alert. He hoped she would be okay. Wheeljack said he had it covered, but the sciencebot often had strange methods for fixing things. More than once he had heard Perceptor complain about the amount of explosions that resulted from Wheeljack's experiments. It didn't seem to bother him much, though. He said that you learned more from mistakes than doing something right. With that mindset, Jetfire must've learned a lot from all he had done.

Jetfire winced. Something had changed. He couldn't place it. Everything had felt so calm. And now…now it was stressful and nerve-racking. Jetstorm. Something was wrong with Jetstorm. He slowly raised himself up to stand. His processor began to swirl and he sank back down, unable to keep his balance. Jetstorm was awake now. Jetfire could hear his thoughts invade his own.

_Jetfire! Jetfire! Are you being alright!?_

Jetfire was a little confused. Shouldn't he be asking the same thing?

_Yes…yes I am, and you?_

_Brother…please do not be taking this vrong vay. I…I cannot let…_

_Vat? Vat are you saying?_

Jetfire didn't like this. Jetstorm was talking funnily, and his tone was desperate and broken. This, plus the processorache and distress he felt could only mean one thing: Jetstorm was in more trouble than he let on.

_I love you, Jetfire. Never forget that. I have…I have to do this._

_D-Do vat? Jetstorm? _

Pain filled his spark. Jetfire keeled over, hugging his chestplate. It was like claws ripping away at it. What was happening!? As soon as it started, it was over. The pain subsided, though he still felt extremely sick. What had that been? And what was Jetstorm talking about?

_Jetstorm?_

There was no response. No assurance of Jetstorm's presence. Nothing but an empty, sickening feeling. Jetfire froze, unsure of what to think. Did this mean…No it couldn't. That wasn't what Jetstorm was saying. He wouldn't…He wouldn't do that!

_Jetstorm!? JETSTORM!?_

His spark tightened in on him. Again, nothing. Jetfire felt clammy. This couldn't be happening. Couldn't be real. Jetstorm wasn't offline. How would that even happen? They were trapped in their rooms. Nobot would go in and offline him, and he didn't have anything in his room to do it himself. It was impossible. Completely impossible.

But it was the only way. It explained Jetstorm's words, the strange pain he had felt before they had spoken. And yet it still made no sense. Jetfire's processor continued to pound, as if threatening to explode. What would he do without his twin?

The door to his room slid open. He jumped back, senses slightly impaired from his processorache. His viz scanners widened upon recognizing his visitor.

"Jet…storm…?"

It sure looked like his brother. Same blue armor. Yellow highlights. Hip-guards. But his visor gleamed Decepticon red. There was an aura of darkness around his chassis. And instead of a cocky smile, a wicked one took its place. This couldn't be Jetstorm. Whatever it was, it walked into the room confidently.

"Of course not, my little Decepticon." The Jetstorm-impersonator replied. The voice sounded shockingly familiar, "Your no-good malfunction of a brother would never have been able to escape from that room."

His spark stopped beating for a nanoclick. He knew who this was. The sugar-coated words over a voice with a whiny undertone. That horrible nickname. It was the Starscream clone from his nightmare!

"V-Vat have you done vith him!?" Jetfire asked, regaining his bearings.

"Oh, Jetstorm? He was much more cooperative than you were. Of course, I made my offer a bit different this time." He sneered, an awful look on Jetstorm's faceplate, "I threatened you. Loyalty and love is such a waste of effort."

Jetfire recalled the proposition the clone had given him before. No. Jetstorm didn't agree to his demands. He couldn't have! Giving up his chassis? That was so wrong! And if he did…what would that do to Jetstorm? He couldn't see clearly into his sparkchamber. His twin's spark could still be there, or not.

"Is he being…?"

"Offline? Matters how you think about it. He will be. But then again, everybot has to go offline eventually, right?" He answered vaguely, "Now, I promised him I'd let you out, so skedaddle, okay? I've got some important business to attend to now that I have a chassis." He stopped, and frowned. Then he turned and began talking to the air, "Well, of course I have to keep my promise, Starscream. The game wouldn't be fair. I want to give them a chance. It's no fun that way."

"S-Starscream!?" Jetfire cried as he stepped back. Surely this wasn't the _real_ Starscream. He was offline, right!?

"Oh, don't tell me you're still afraid of that old crankcase? He's just a ghost now." The clone made Jetstorm wince, "Ow! Starscream, I didn't mean it! Don't burn me like that!"

"Who…Who are you?" Jetfire asked quietly. This was all so weird and horrifying. The clone in Jetstorm's chassis. Starscream a ghost. It was too much for him to handle right now. Like an emotional rollercoaster that he couldn't get off of.

"Oh, me? Well, I'm Dirge, of course! Soon-to-be ruler of…well everything I suppose. I haven't thought quite that far." He smirked, "And it wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for your twin's…noble sacrifice. I'll get much use out of this chassis. I have a bigger one on my list though…"

The anger flared inside of Jetfire. Jetstorm was not just a tool. He was so much more than that! How dare this Starscream-wannabe have the nerve to do such a thing!? He clenched his servos into fists, unable to restrain himself.

"I vill not let you away-get vith this!" He cried as he ran forward. Fire surrounded his fingers. He was going to teach this `con a lesson.

Jetstorm – no, Dirge- just stood there, ready to accept whatever form of pain Jetfire planned to inflict on him. He stopped short. He couldn't do it. Not only would he hurt Jetstorm in the process, but it wouldn't give him the satisfaction he desired.

"Weak. Autobots are so weak. Now if you just let your Decepticon programming help you…" He grabbed Jetfire's servo and whirled around, slamming him into the wall. Jetfire cringed and let himself slump to the ground. Since when was Jetstorm that strong? Only when…when their bond was broken, "…you would really amount to something. See that? Couldn't do that without some Decepticon strength, could you?"

"Autobots…are much stronger than Decepticons vill ever be." Jetfire insisted as he raised himself to his stabilizing servos. "Ve have defeated you once, it vill not be being hard to do again."

"But you forget that you aren't _really_ an Autobot, little Decepticon." Dirge said, as if reprimanding him, "What's on the inside matter much more than the outside. And besides…that Autobrand is just a sticker. You can always remove it."

Jetfire blinked. "N-No! It is being more than that…I am sure!"

"I don't have time to hear you being in denial. I have business to attend to." And with that, Dirge walked out of the room without looking back. It took Jetfire a nanoclick to realize that he wave leaving.

"Vait! Come back here, you coward!" Jetfire screamed as he raced after him. He wouldn't let the `con who took his brother from him just run away. He needed to get revenge, even if he didn't know how without hurting Jetstorm as well. Or at least, he needed to stop him from doing whatever he intended to do. It sounded evil. Slaggit! He looked around the hall. He couldn't find Dirge anywhere!

This was all happening so fast, he wasn't sure if he could handle anymore. He needed help. Quickly, he ran off towards where he knew Wheeljack should be. If anything, he would have a solution to this problem, no matter how ridiculous it would sound. He was probably in the office connected to the control room where they were tested. He would still be working on Red Alert and the others.

The lights flickered as he made his way down the hall. What was that? A power outage? It didn't matter. He had to get to Wheeljack! Besides, a power outage wasn't anything important. Right?

There it was! Jetfire hurried into the room. It was odd. The whole way there he had seen no guards at all. He was sure he would encounter some, but they weren't anywhere in sight. That was okay for him. They would have just slowed him down anyways.

On three examination tables were the chassis of Red Alert and her comrades. Normally this would frighten Jetfire, but he chose to ignore it. He had bigger priorities. Wheeljack was at his desk, seemingly hard at work. A usual pose for him, for a `bot who worked a lot. Jetfire was immeadiately at his side.

"Wheeljack! Wheeljack! Please to be listening! It is Jetstorm! He is being…" He twirled around the chair so that Wheeljack would look at him. He had to know how serious this was! Without Jetstorm, he didn't know if he could control himself. And if this blasted processorache didn't stop soon, he might go even more insane!

Jetfire gasped. Wheeljack's viz scanners stared forward, almost through him. His sparkchamber was empty, energon leaking from it. Jetfire stepped back. No. Not Wheeljack too. He wasn't gray, but there was no way he could still be online, was there? It was just like Red Alert. And only Wheeljack had any idea of how to save her. Slowly he backed his way out of the room, a chill rolling down his chassis. Why was this happening to him?

He had to get out of here. He went down another hall, hoping it would lead out of the building. As he did, he came across the chassis of several guards, in a similar state as Wheeljack. It didn't comfort him to know this was a widespread event. He trudged through the energon-stained hallway, as if in a daze. He was going to finally leave this spark-forsaken prison. And then?

And then he would make Dirge pay.

* * *

**Wheeljack's lines in the first scene reference Oddball from Kelly's Heros (with the paint ammo xD Great movie) and Hagrid from Harry Potter. **


End file.
